RICHMOND, Ind. – Professional soccer has arrived in Wayne County — sort of.

The Indy Eleven professional soccer club last week finalized plans to join the local Chamber of Commerce, as part of the team's ongoing initiative to expand its reach beyond the confines of central Indiana by partnering with organizations across the state.

The move, while mostly symbolic, could open doors for partnerships between local groups and the soccer club, said Ed DeLaPaz, director of marketing for the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce.

"They're looking at different avenues of doing community outreach," he said. "They chose to join ... to see what we can do in the future to promote soccer and active lifestyles and things like that."

He said while it is not unusual for companies located outside Wayne County to join the chamber's membership, DeLaPaz noted this might be the first time a professional, Indianapolis-based sports team has done so.

"When we heard they wanted to be part of the Chamber, we were more than willing to say 'Come on, become a member,'" he said. "We were excited."

Mike Henn, director of ticket sales for Indy Eleven, said the club has joined several chambers of commerce around the state, with hopes of stirring up excitement about the team and to send "a clear message that this isn't just Indianapolis' team; it's Indiana's soccer team."

Henn, a Richmond native, said Wayne County's chamber was among the first the team considered joining because of its location in the state, in addition to his personal connection to the area.

"We are trying to show we are a statewide team," he said. "We're trying to reach all parts of the state, but one of my first calls was to Richmond."

He said several dozen people from around Wayne County have gone to team events in the past, generally buying tickets to individual games. Henn said Indy Eleven would like to grow the team's fanbase in the area, and perhaps increase that count to the hundreds.

"We would love for local soccer fans to embrace our club and take advantage of the fact we're right down the road," he said. "Getting out there in our communities is what this all is really about."

He said multiple soccer clubs from around Wayne County have taken teams to Indianapolis for promotional events and games, adding the club would like to see more of that in the future.

"We want to nurture relationships like that," he said. "Those are some core groups for us. We want to continue to try to do what we can to attract fans ... from all over the state."

Henn said the team has joined or is in the process of joining several chambers of commerce within a 100-mile radius of Indianapolis, including those in Bloomington, Carmel, Columbus, Greensburg, Kokomo, Muncie, New Castle and Terre Haute.

He said the club expects to pay normal, annual dues for each of the chambers, but did not specify exactly how much is being spent on the initiative; each chamber of commerce accounts for a variety of factors when determining the cost of a business' membership.

The Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce has base rates starting at $271, plus incremental costs associated with its employee count; for large organizations, the cost is $866, plus $3.50 per employee, after the 100th employee. It's unclear how many individuals work for Indy Eleven.

It's also unclear whether the club signed up to be a partner organization at any of the chambers, a designation that often carries a much higher price tag, but creates more sponsorship opportunities. Those partnerships range from $1,500 to $10,000 per year.

"It's all about investing in our communities and giving them the opportunity to see something special," he said. "We are doing what we can to make this a great experience for our fans."

Henn said what could become of the memberships is still being determined, but noted there are options for ways the team could engage with communities around the state. He pointed to the annual Reds Caravan event as a potential model for the club to follow.

"Maybe we end up coming over in a caravan type of thing ... maybe we look to come over and do a clinic," he said. "I know buy-in is needed from both sides; anything we can do to come to those particular areas to do a function or an appearance, those places come immediately to mind."

As Indy Eleven continues to build its fanbase around the state, it also is seeking to increase support for the team in Indianapolis; the club for nearly three years has been pushing to build its own stadium in the metropolitan area's downtown corridor, though for now it plays its games at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The club averages 10,000 fans per game, Henn said, though he said weekend games are often more crowded than those played during the workweek.

The club currently plays in the United Soccer League, but Henn said the front office staff and players have hopes of joining the Major League Soccer circuit in the coming years.

DeLaPaz said he is hopeful Indy Eleven will consider bringing the team to Wayne County for events moving forward. He said he'd love to see a potential exhibition game or practice session in the Richmond area.

The club is already offering a ticket discount for chamber members for its home finale on Oct. 6.

"Maybe there's potential there to invite Indy Eleven in the future to do some Chamber events in our area in the future," he said. "We'd love to see that."